Locked Out
by Blue Mistfall
Summary: A story of young Charlotte Smith, who never expected that meeting a living impersonation of Mad Hatter would result in something creeper...


**A/N: Whew! This took more than a while. An 'ordered story' of 13th Doctor (predicting much?) and young Charlotte Smith.**

* * *

"He's such a cutie, I just love him!"

"Yes, who wouldn't? By the way, can I borrow your lipstick?"

Charlotte Smith was surprised that the clique sitting just behind her back wasn't discussing the eyelashes of someone new in the neighborhood. Or the non-fashionable sweater of Chemistry teacher. Or... there were loads of things to discuss. For instance, the couple that everybody had seen. They were both imposingly old - twenty at least, but the guy had behaved as if he had been a toddler or else. The girl had helped him walk down the stairs (though he seemed all fine). "Be careful, Frazer... Yes, that's it. Come on". Or no. Maybe that guy had some kind of a disease? Alas, not everybody was perfectly healthy.

Tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap.

"Who's breaking my nerves?"

The girls behind Charlotte stopped giggling and asking questions about one more superpopular actor and stared at the window, where there was a sight worth looking at.

A man - really old for school, twenty at least, maybe one of college students, but definitely not of the crush-worthy ones - was walking across the school stadium, his back to the windows of the class. He was holding a black smooth cane with bronze tip, which he was pointing at all sides and tapping the ground with it. Obviously it had been him who had tapped it on the class's wall from the outside.

"Another imitator".

"Look, it doesn't even fit to his outfit".

Definitely, the cane was one thing that wasn't needed here, if to look from the point of view of a fashion-crazed girl. The man was dressed quite casually. Light blue jeans sweeping the ground around his heels packed in sneakers of the same type, but of different colors - the right was creamy, the left was red (and had far longer laces that trailed behind); rust-colored jacket, from under which the bottom part of a white tee was seen, and a cock-eyed bowlhat. Oh, please. And the man was moving like a professional dancer (Charlotte knew: she had a pal that was a dance champion), so he didn't need a cane to support himself. Maybe it was just for hitting other people.

The man did an impressive twirl, holding his cane by its middle, so its tip (which shone with a golden light) drew a glittering circle in the end for a moment.

* * *

Charlotte was reading Before I Fall on her tablet, munching on chips at the same time, when the place next to her all of a sudden was occupied. By whom, do you think? The bowl hat gave it all out.

"Excuse me, is it free here?"

"You've taken it anyway", Charlotte replied and dived another piece of fried potato into the barbecue sauce.

"Thanks". The stranger drew a circle in the air with his cane and groaned. "Where is he? Wish there was no fashion! I would've found that guy in a mere second, if it was so!"

"Which guy?"

"Have you seen a guy whose skin is half scars?"

If Mad Hatter was a real person, he would've looked like that. Upon the closer look his appearance showed itself fully: his hair was thick and of a very rare shade - dark bronze with a hint of red (for some reason Charlotte thought about some exquisite furniture made out of especially precious wood), tied in a small ponytail behind. His nose was quite small and turned up, and three freckles were sitting at its very tip, and his eyes were greenish blue, hardly ever blinking. Yes, he was... neither this nor that, something like an unfinished mixture of two beings.

"N-no..."

"Oh me!" The man stood up and danced to the exit, as if he was performing a rock-n-roll sequence. Mad Hatter, no one else. Only one thing was missing: 'In this style 10/6' card.

* * *

After the classes were over, it came out that this man hadn't left Ravenswood School. Charlotte saw his bowlhat again in the crowd, and this time she decided to follow him. She knew about professional thieves, and if he was one of them, she would not leave him just so.

The girl saw that he entered the classroom which was locked for renewal. Why? Careless students could've left their cell phones and tablets anywhere but there... The corridor quickly went empty, and Charlotte crept to the doors. The lock didn't seem damaged or picked. Perhaps the man had stolen the keys? Or had a copy?..

The strangest sound made Charlotte leave all her sanity behind and burst into the room. And immediately fierce wind hit her in the face.

 _Oh my, am I going insane?_ \- that was her first thought. Because there was a tall blue box dissolving in thin air in front of her.

The first reaction was not to let it go just so. There was to be an explanation.

* * *

Charlotte had an impression that there was a black hole in her head. How did she get here? Why did it take place? She didn't remember a thing. But the events began slowly restoring themselves when she saw that she was sitting on the floor of a large room with silvery metal walls. There was a glass column in its center, and above it there were three concentric rings with unknown, but pretty familiar symbols, rotating.

"Alive, Captain Jack?"

"No..." Charlotte massaged her temples - her head was going to crack into a multitude of pieces.

"Yeah, they say that human children are not like their predecessors anymore. Now I got an approval". The man in a bowlhat walked from behind the column and examined Charlotte head to toe. "Alive, breathing and well. No doubt... By the way, what's your name?"

"Charlotte. Charlotte Smith". She attempted to stand up, but either she turned heavier or her strength was gone for good.

"Yaaaaaaah!" The man leaned on the hexagonal console around the column. "Not even a hint! All right, let's try again..."

"Care to explain?" Charlotte asked. "Am I dreaming or something? Or is this one big great floppy prank?"

"Neither... I'm the Doctor, by the way". The man turned to her. "And you jumped onto the TARDIS in the moment of dematerialization. Just like Captain Jack. Thank goodness you did not delay the flight for 300 years".

"Not even a hint?"

"You see, I'm searching for a certain person", the Doctor stated. "A kid named Frazer Spareparts".

"Never heard of such one".

"I've been wandering around your school all day, searching for him. Care to help me?"

"Why do you need to find him, I wonder?"

"Because it may result in disaster if I don't. Can you stop asking questions and give me a little bit of trust? Details later".

"There are different disasters. Someone can make a trifle like a broken nail a disaster", Charlotte mentioned and finally stood up. "What kind of disaster is yours?"

The Doctor tapped on several keys and tugged on some levers on the console, and the largest screen showed an image. Charlotte didn't know what to feel - disgust or pity - about its object: a lad of about seventeen or eighteen, half-converted into some kind of a robot. The total impression was more than creepy: both his legs, left arm from fingers to elbow, left half of his torso, neck and a small bit of face - a triangle with a round black hole, large enough to cover his left eye - were covered in metal parts.

"See? That's the lad I'm looking for. Understood why his name is Frazer Spareparts? Now he's free from this armour, but some modifications stayed in his brain, and I didn't pay attention to them during the previous time..."

"Previous time?"

"Yes. A very long time ago. This poor soul was an object of scientific research since his birth".

"And they called me Freaksmith", Charlotte muttered.

"Whom do you mean - him or me?" the Doctor asked and suddenly pulled his cane from under his bowlhat. "If you mean me..."

"Please do not suck my brain out and do not vaporize me", Charlotte replied, pretending that she was not surprised. "Is this some kind of a particularly nasty joke? Hidden Camera, Prankster or what?"

The Doctor sighed and began twirling his cane's handle. When he was done, Charlotte saw that he was holding a slender wand-like item with the familiar golden light on the top. Like Lucius Malfoy's snake-headed wand hidden in his cane, she thought against her will. Thank goodness not a sword.

"I do not carry weapons", the Doctor said, as if he read her mind. "Do you have an item of yours which you know better than anything else? Oh me, I'm a bonehead. You gotta have a cell phone".

"What are you on about?" Charlotte snapped, collecting her bag from the floor.

"You want an approval. I'll give you one... Turn the phone off. Just for a moment. Okay, hold it if you wish so. See, there are wee-wee screws on the base? Now watch this".

He pointed his 'wand' at the screws, and they began unscrewing by themselves. When only a millimeter was separating them from falling out, they stopped and got back.

"Now do you believe me?"

Charlotte closed her eyes and inhaled two or three times.

"Okay. Let's consider that I do. So what's so dangerous about that Extra Gears guy you're searching for?"

"Spare Parts", the Doctor corrected. "It's not about him, it's about his brain, as I said. He used to be a lab guinea pig, but one day he bumped into me".

"And? Don't tell me you got him out of this... Future Age armour".

"Well, I did. A long long time ago. But, you see, it wasn't me who found him... it's... it's... complicated. Let me tell you the core. I helped Frazer get rid of the outside iron, but I didn't pay attention that there were modifications in his brain as well. They must've been dormant, this is why I missed them, but now they're active". The Doctor stuck his 'wand' into the cane again and began entering something on the keyboard fixed onto one of the six sides of the console.

"Does that mean he's going to turn into a monster when growing angry?" Charlotte asked, her patience beginning to wear out.

"Worse".

"Or maybe he's going to turn evil basically?"

"Worse".

"Or try and hypnotize everyone?"

"Timelord - human, score three - nil! You had too much telly. That ain't no Avengers or X-Men to ya! No. The ones who experimented on Frazer - he calls them the Talkers - could influence your world through him without him knowing that. And if they do so, there's a high probability of a time paradox, and that's not the best option".

"For you especially, eh? Timelord!" Posh aliens, Charlotte thought.

"It's true", the Doctor replied. "So I need to find Frazer and switch the camera in his head off... Do you mind if I use your sight center and search for the information?"

"Don't even think about that!" Charlotte jumped back and took a karate pose - or she thought so.

"No wires, no technical crazes. All I need is your touch".

"Touch?"

"Touch telepathy. It's not going to hurt. And it's going to be a narrow search. I won't open the unrelated files".

"I'm not Google to you", Charlotte muttered. "But then you prove that something is wrong".

The Doctor placed both his hands on Charlotte's cheekbones and closed his eyes. For some moments he was just standing without a motion, but then he jumped with joy:

"I knew it, I knew it, I knew it! Thank you! Now it's about..." he removed his hands and let them dance over the console, "...the needed person. Tell me, do you know a girl named Josephine Lissie?"

"Emmmm..."

"Theory of six handshakes", the Doctor continued, typing on the keyboard with the speed of torpedo.

"I know what it is, I'm not dumb. But you got the wrong handshake, Mr. Doctor".

"No matter, we'll do it even without that, and you know why? Nothing and nobody's forgotten, and we're... outta here!"

The floor shook, so Charlotte would've fallen over if she didn't grab on the closest side of the console. In about thirty seconds the 'earthquake' was over, and the Doctor's mouth widened:

"There's my girl!" He caressed the closest panel side with his right hand.

"I knew that crazy racers address their cars by names and all, but you're too much", Charlotte interfered.

"You know nothing about her". The Doctor danced to the exit and peeked out. "As I said - there's my clever girl".

Curious, Charlotte followed him. To her surprise, the place outside was a complete opposite to the classroom she had been in. This was a simple, but cosy bedroom in a small flat. It was quiet here, but there was a person: a dark-topped lad sitting on the bed and staring at two people exiting the blue box which had just appeared here.

"Hello, Frazer Spareparts", the Doctor began. "Remember me?"

Frazer blinked. If he were a cat, he would've waved his tail, Charlotte thought: she had once read that cats do this when they can't decide what to choose from two opportunities. Or when they are confused.

"Cross my hearts, Frazer", the Doctor went on. "I told you that I'll come back".

This worked better, but only halfway. While the news were making their way, Charlotte paid attention to the kid's appearance details: indeed, the skin of his left hand, both ankles, neck and a small patch of face (around the left eye) was some shades lighter than the rest, like many-years-old scar tissue.

"Cross my hearts... Cross - my - hearts... Doctor?"

"Me. Lucky Thirteenth this time. Tell me, have you had any headaches or such lately?"

"So you became a real doctor, then?" Frazer asked, standing up.

"It's important, and you can't imagine how important! Well?"

"Em... no". Frazer shook his head and turned pale. "But I had bad images in my head".

"Which ones?"

"About Talkers". The kid began biting his upper lip. "As if they returned and took over me..."

"I need to check this, Frazer. Allow me, it won't be painful".

The Doctor performed the same 'touch telepathy' process, but this time he was standing still for longer period of time. For what can he search so long if he ruffled my brain through in a mere second? - Charlotte thought to herself. But then she recalled that in her case the Doctor had known what he had been searching for, and here he didn't. Talkers? What kind of Talkers?..

"If you're watching me from there, trust me, you won't create any time loops or whatever you want", the Doctor suddenly said, opened his eyes and lolled his tongue. Frazer grimaced in misunderstanding. "That's to them. Thank you, Frazer. And can you do something else for me? Try to find the location of their camera in your mind and block it".

"How?" Frazer pressed his fingertips to his helmets. "It's in my head. I cannot open it".

"Lock it from the outside. I know you can do it, because you, my friend, are a human", the Doctor replied. "Come along, Charlotte. We've got things to do".

But hardly had he stepped over the TARDIS doorstep when there was a familiar sound, the blue doors slammed shut, and the blue box was gone. Together with Charlotte.

* * *

Charlotte released the railing to which she was clinging all this time, before the whole place stopped shaking, and looked around. Not a trace of the Doctor and that guy... what was his name?.. Frazer.

"Great. Stuck in the middle of nowhere", Charlotte muttered, walked up to the console and stared at the multitude of buttons, keys, levers, switches and lights. "Think, you gotta find a way out..."

All of a sudden there was a sound, very similar to that which came out which she had heard before she had appeared here, but this time it was harsh and... the whole impression was as if that who emitted that sound was resisting something powerful. More stubborn, more desperate and more tired, if you could say that about mechanical sounds.

"Now this whole thing is going to be broken". Charlotte gazed at the control panel. "When it's about cars, you gotta turn the key and switch it off, but here... I might fly to open space and get lost forever."

"I'm not broken".

Charlotte twirled around upon the sound of another girl's voice. What, there was one more person here? Indeed, there was. A girl a bit older then her, maybe a year or two, was standing next to the console, observing her. And if the Doctor was an oddball, she was someone from a 1960s comic book or else: her short dark haircut, stripy jumper and narrow black trousers screamed it out loud.

"I am the TARDIS interface", the odd girl went on. "I usually take the shape of those who can find the best common language with the person, but here I had nothing to choose from".

"Whatever do you mean?" Charlotte asked and only then spotted that her opponent's figure was slightly unstable, like a picture on an old recording. Tape, preferably.

"I've taken the form of a teenage Timelady for you to get the core of the situation as quickly as possible".

"Hey, I'm not a nutcase or a bonehead!" Charlotte yelped. "Hold it. Timelady?"

"Yes. To make it all clear to you".

"What honour. By the way, do you have a name? It's not too comfy to talk to an AI... calling it an AI".

"The person's name whose shape I took is Susan Foreman", was the reply. "But I am not Susan. And I am not an Artificial Intelligence".

"Yeah-band", Charlotte said, fighting with the temptation to give her a rain of words. "Anyway, what is going on? You didn't take this shape for nothing, Susan".

The image curved its mouth, but answered:

"The TARDIS is operated via symbiotic connection between itself and the Timelord to whom she belongs".

"You mean... like a centaur? Or a hybrid? Two in one?"

"If to talk in your Earth manner, yes".

"Whoa, that's some sweet stuff for futurologists".

"Right here something or somebody managed to temporary remove the Doctor's pattern from my systems and replace it with another one, having made me transfer myself to this place without interruptions".

"So this is why you nearly gave him a bruise with your doors. And where am I... where are WE, if so?"

"Go and check by yourself", the image answered.

* * *

"No, no, no, no, no, NO!"

The Doctor was shaking Frazer by his shoulders, but the kid wasn't reacting - his head was dangling from side to side, and that was all. Having calmed down, he jumped up and began walking from side to side, thinking aloud:

"Right, Doctor, think! The Talkers acted similarly to Weeping Angels. Possessed the youngster's mind. And blacked him out, because that gives higher chance of completely taking over him... and lower chance for me to interfere. On the other hand, it gives me some time to think of a way... out of all this... and get the TARDIS back together with this girl. Lotte? Yes. Wish I had the Stattenheim remote control with me!"

His pondering reached its end when he ran up to the window and glanced outside.

"Or I'll have to think fast!"

* * *

"What did he say? What did he say? How did he find that Frazer guy? Through my memory?" Charlotte was walking around the console, tapping her temples, as she often did when urgent brainwork was needed. "Connection, connection... needs to be broken... otherwise there will be a horror, and I don't know which and don't want to know..."

She stopped in the middle of the place, struck by a memory. One of her pals was clever enough to create his own radio show when his favourite frequency had been closed, so... No-no-no-no-no-no. One Earthling would be enough, and Charlotte wasn't going to make someone else interfered. But the idea remained.

"Frazer guy's frequency could be interfered, messed up or closed", Charlotte muttered. "But how am I going to do that?"

* * *

"Think, think, think, think, think!"

The Doctor froze in front of the window, having seen harmless, but creepy sight - eight girls in basketball uniform were walking past the window, bumping eight balls against the pavement in perfect sync.

"Just like Cybermen", he muttered. "Cybermen... Wait. Cybermen! If the Talkers have already started transmitting their signals, then I can do... Sorry Frazer, I do not guarantee it'll be safe".

He placed his hands on the lad's cheekbones once more and concentrated.

"Frazer Spareparts, can you hear me? Reply. Anything".

Silence.

"Spareparts, Spareparts, Doctor calling, Spareparts! Over!"

"Doctor?"

Frazer's mind voice sounded as if from a barrel, but it was better than nothing.

"Frazer, listen attentively. Find your artificial part and put the link through to it. It's somewhere in the blue box. Don't let anybody get through. You're the only way to reach Charlotte, got it?"

"I'll try to".

* * *

The control panel under Charlotte's hands vibrated, and she jerked so hard that nearly fell under it. This time the virtual girl didn't appear, but the door in the farther end of the room opened, as if inviting her to enter.

Calm down, you're doing fine. I hope so, Charlotte thought and walked there, making herself keep the tempo instant - no running, no stopping, no looking around.

The corridor was turning to all sides, but its walls were solid. Perhaps there had been a setting of closing every unnecessary door automatically, when it was required. And no matter how hard Charlotte tried, her legs automatically switched to running regime.

She stopped only when it was nowhere else to run. This place was much like an abandoned warehouse: there was no furniture apart from shelves occupied with all kinds of items - from futuristic statuettes to bronze bells. And what was she going to find here?

Think, Charlotte, think. Perhaps those were the metal parts which used to be fixed on that Frazer guy.

Charlotte walked along the closest shelf, examining every single detail. She wished there was an alphabet catalogue here somewhere... though it wouldn't make much sense if there was. Could it be F for Frazer, D for Details, C for Cyber... no matter... or maybe it was W for What-is-going-to-happen-anyway?

At first the girl found a helmet - perhaps of some ancient warrior - but this wasn't similar to any needed part, as far as she remembered. Then a pair of metal gloves attracted her, but they were 1) of the wrong size, too small and 2) there were two of them, and Frazer for sure had had one - the left one. And Charlotte doubted that his glove would be so squeaky clean.

She didn't have to search for much more because one of the metal parts all of a sudden twirled and bounced onto her, as if alive. It was a triangular patch of metal with a hole in it, which was seemingly searching for a certain part to cling to: no matter how hard Charlotte attempted to keep it away from her face, it was determined to get there.

"Shoo! Shoo!" she yelped, hoping it wasn't going to choke her. "Shoo, you big stupid... Cyberrat!"

"Charley?"

"It's CHARLOTTE to ya..." Hold on. Whose voice is it? "Who? Who is speaking?"

"It's me." The voice sounded clearer when the metal patch adjusted to the needed place on Charlotte's head, the creepy hole right over her right eye. "Can you hear me? It's Frazer."

"Are you sure you're not some of those..."

"Talkers? Cross my hearts!"

Cross my hearts. He had said something like this, having seen the Doctor, and I doubt that Talkers were interested in this, Charlotte thought.

"So I am talking to Frazer Spareparts?"

"Well, not to him completely, to be honest. You're talking to the part of him which was kept in the Cybermatrix."

"Cybermatrix? I could've murdered those who think of such things."

"Strictly saying, I'm his echo. Memories of his being a half-Cyberman. The Doctor asked him to get through to you, and I reached you this way. Remember? Connection needs to be broken."

"And how am I going to break it?"

"You may not know how to do that, but I know. Take this part of me to the core of this place and set it there, and I'll do the rest."

"You offer spying?"

"There's no other way. Full circle."

The metal piece got unattached, and Charlotte released the breath she didn't realize she had been holding.

* * *

"Full circle," Frazer buzzed in Cyber-voice. "Full circle launched."

The Doctor took a deep breath to calm down and stuffed his hands into his pockets, mechanically searching for something and not knowing for what.

"The technologies are so complicated that they can't solve a task for a seven-year-old," he hummed. "That's just it. There's their weak point! And, though I hate it when primitive technologies overtake... No way! Sorry Frazer, I need your head again!"

* * *

The AI - or Susan, or who she had been? - was waiting for Charlotte in the console room.

"I suppose that you have a task now," she assumed, having spotted a metal piece in Charlotte's hand. "But I have another message for you."

"Which?"

"Don't go out with empty hands. See that chest in the corner? Find a sonic cane in."

"A sonic cane? What is it?"

"It can't be messed with anything else. Have you seen the Doctor's one? You will need a copy."

"For what?"

"For opening doors. Or breaking codes. Or maybe you'll use it as humans use canes," the image answered. "And, most importantly, show no emotions."

"Why?"

"One sparkle of emotion, and there will be much ooo-eee-ooo."

"You mean alarm?"

"I mean consequences."

"And how does this work?" Charlotte asked a little while later, having found a black smooth cane in the chest full of unfamiliar items.

"Point and think."

* * *

Charlotte had never thought that she would hear her own heartbeat so clearly. No, not like that. She felt as if she turned into one walking radar. Her hands - one clutching the 'talisman' piece of metal, the other's fingers circling the smooth surface of the green-tipped cane - quickly went wet with sweat, her hair began moving on her head, and in all this was like before an exam.

Indifference. Indifference. Charlotte attempted to recall something scarier. Horror movies? Bah, Charlotte found them not scary, but disgusting. Especially their posters. They always left a track in her mind and crawled out without being called. Ewwww... No, no, no curved face, poker. Poker-poker-poker. Can't read my, can't read my, no, they can't read on my poker face... though in the video there was much flirt and cunning smiles...

No, no, no. No flirting, no grins. Thump-thump, tap-tap, thump-thump, tap-tap - the tempo of Charlotte's walking and her heartbeat got identical.

The metal piece in her hand vibrated, and Charlotte stopped, fearing that there was a glimpse of shock on her face. But no. No howling of alarm, no 'ooo-eee-ooo'. That must've meant that she got too far from the 'core', whatever it meant. She made a step forward - no result. Backwards - no result. Only a few steps to the right made a trick, and she went on.

Don't call my name, don't call my name... That's another story. Poker face. Poker face.

The corridor brought Charlotte to the elevator-like doors. What now? Charlotte gazed at the cane in her hand, which was now moist with sweat. There should be a trick. There must be. After a brief search the girl found a hidden button on the cane, pressed it, and the doors opened (she nearly dropped the cane when it buzzed and vibrated in response to the pressing motion).

The room was completely occupied with some kind of king-sized machines. All screens, levers, buttons, and some operational tables of far future next to the walls. Trembling head to toe, Charlotte entered, holding her poker face - hardly any power remained to keep it. And besides, she wanted to sneeze. Was a sneeze face an emotion? And a pain face?

Point and think. Point and think. Trembling from head to toe, Charlotte raised the cane and pressed the button.

The gears did not respond at first, but after some endless moments the cane somehow spoke in her mind, directing her. That's point and think to ya.

To the right. Yes, and now back. Right in there.

Charlotte thought about posing at photo sessions - hand to the right, chin upwards, mouth a wee bit open...

The small door on one of the gears soundlessly opened, revealing mechanism inside. Right in there, the cane whispered in her mind. Fingers numb, Charlotte inserted the triangular piece of metal inside and closed the door.

RUN.

This was clear in spite of cane not 'talking' now.

* * *

"Full circle", Frazer breathed and was asleep before anything else could be said.

The Doctor felt that his hands, aching with delicate hurried work, got moist with sweat and that his lower lip was responding with faint pain after being bit for such a long time.

"Where is... Where is?.. Oh me, oh me, please, please, don't get stuck..."

The hurriedly made pastiche of Stattenheim remote control vibrated in his hand, but nothing seemed to happen.

* * *

Charlotte made one final dash and grabbed on the handle of the blue door just before it would've vanished. The cane had led her to the police box, but now malfunctions seemed to show off - at first the wheezing of the box got tense, then the cane vibrated again, and then the alarm howled.

The girl didn't care that her face expressed despair now. She wanted to stay here less than anything.

The air was filled with VWORP VWORP, Charlotte's ears were stuffed with WAAAAAH WAAAAAH, her mind was ringing with BUZZ BUZZ, so she nearly got deaf. But the following was worse. She froze against her will, fingers circled around the corners of the blue box which was not vanishing, but dashing through some kind of a really creepy tunnel - black background, blue, red, pinkish and yellow streams of mist, bluish grey mist, thunderbolts flashing really close. And ticking of gears instead of horrid noise before.

However, Charlotte didn't remember much from it, because seemingly the next moment she found herself supine and watched by a pair of greenish blue eyes from under bronze eyebrows.

"Hello, Captain Jack", the Doctor beamed upon seeing she was okay. "I see you coped perfectly fine".

"How d'ya know?"

"Poor old Frazer is not Talker-devious anymore. Their transfer is no longer working, and you humans don't tend to copy each other... mmm... more than usually".

"And how did I get here?"

"I copied a Stattenheim remote control for TARDIS, and..."

"You're an inventor as well?"

"Y'know, I made a perception filter out of laptop parts and keys as well", the Doctor replied, and his smile turned slightly bitter. Perhaps a bad memory.

"Where's Frazer? Is he okay?"

"Look by yourself".

Charlotte sat up and saw the mentioned one sleeping on a couch in front of her. And smiling in his sleep.

* * *

Rubbish, rubbish, rubbish. Charlotte was again sitting at her desk and half-listening to the teacher's words and the clique's discussion. This time it was about optical laws and 'losers' (those who had hobbies and interests apart from lipstick and physiology) correspondingly. Really, she should've thought about them when breaking the circle of Talkers. Those are real Talkers who had no sense.

"If there was an invasion of same-faces, they'd be in heaven", Charlotte muttered.

"You sure?"

Charlotte almost jumped when having heard that right in her head. No one else reacted.

"Bored bored bored bored bored", the voice teased. "Break. Backyard. Blue."

"BAH", Charlotte hummed.

* * *

"The TARDIS kept you alive in the Time Vortex". The Doctor was waiting for her at the school backyard.

"So what?"

"So, I called out for you, and you replied. Don't worry, it's gonna wear off soon".

"And?"

"I called, you came. Wanna come with me?"

"Why would I? All those labs and aliens and all..."

"There are not only them. You can make sure of it".

"Got it". Charlotte crossed her arms and grinned. "Is that an invitation? Why wouldn't you offer it to Fraz?"

"Poor old Frazer had enough time-travelling. Maybe he'll want some more, but not now. Well?"

"Promise to get me back to lunch. And... please no more intellectual interfaces".

"No more WHO?"

Charlotte was inside the TARDIS before the Doctor understood the sense of what was said.


End file.
